A Comfort Zone Without a Comforter by Alan Anderson

I love the writing prompt for this month. I want to give it a big verbal kiss! It has made me think deep and to choose my words with caution. The ghost of my “comfort zone” is looking over my shoulder as I write this autobiographical post.

The theme for this month’s blog is, “Out of your comfort zone.” Here are the prompt questions I will cover. “When has God nudged you out of your comfort zone, either in your faith life or your writing life? What fears did you face? What steps did you take (or not take) to leave your comfort zone? And what were the results? (Or perhaps God is nudging you now…)”

Please allow me to set the scene a bit for you. I lived my childhood primarily in a fantasyland of my own making. From my early years I tried to escape real life and what it confronted me with. I was shy, quiet and just wanted people to leave me alone. I took each day as it came. That was life. I didn’t expect anything special to come my way. As long as I could stay within myself it was okay. My life at this early age was my comfort zone. It was a comfort zone without a comforter.

“When has God nudged you out of your comfort zone, either in your faith life or your writing life?” When I became aware of God’s love for me things changed slowly. I had to be sure God was real. That too would come slowly. My early thoughts of God were He was a big Meany! He was a Judge and I didn’t need another judge.

What fears did I face?

At first I didn’t face my fears for the most part because there were too many. I hid from them. They were bigger than me. I began to use humour to help me hide from me. In time, in years of time, humour would help me form a relationship with the world and myself. Humour slowly helped me face my fears by not allowing them to rule me anymore.

“What steps did you take (or not take) to leave your comfort zone?” I always took slow and small steps. I guess somewhere along the way of supposedly growing up, I wanted to have a less fearful relationship with life. My shyness pretty well stayed part of me into my teen years. I still much preferred my own company to that of having other people around. I worked hard at my self-awareness, at finding out about myself. That is still part of my journey today.

“And what were the results?” I began to come out of my comfort zone and saw the needs of others. To this day I resonate with those who hurt. I seem to naturally come alongside those in need of an ear and heart to listen to them. I guess in some way, I am a comforter to some.

 Even today I still have lots to learn about people, other God and myself. I think even with my last breath I will be amazed that God ordained me for good works. He ordained me? Me? I am thankful He knows what He is doing. I have a Comforter who is in the business of looking beyond my “comfort zone” and accepting me for who He made me to be. I’m cool with that now!

Blog: ScarredJoy@wordpress.com

You Know You Can By Vickie Stam

I can remember a time when I had a strong desire to watch a 'spine-chiller' on the big screen. As soon as one was advertised on television; I was hooked. I wanted to go. No matter how long the line up, I refused to leave until I was certain the tickets were sold out. But I wasn't alone. Being with someone made it easy to persevere. Nasty rain pellets couldn't dampen our spirits nor shivering in the blistering cold. Nothing could keep us away.

It was the experience of terror that I enjoyed. Sitting in the dark with my popcorn in hand I could feel my heart racing long before the opening credits started to roll and when they did I knew I was in for a chilling ride.

The eerie background music almost always set the tone that something frightening was about to happen. I quickly set my popcorn down and waited; not with eyes wide open but with eyes shut and hands shielding them so not even a trickle of horror could seep through. Other moments I cupped my hands over my ears hoping to drown out the blood curdling screams. I saw what I needed to see and heard what I needed to hear. The entire time my heart was leaping inside my chest but when I was caught off guard I jumped sending pebbles of popcorn everywhere. Afterwards, I laughed. I loved every minute of it!

So, why did I rush to see something that raised the hair on my arms? Why did I choose to witness something that left me clutching the sides of my seat in terror? Because I loved being caught in the grip of fear. I enjoyed the element of surprise. Imagine if all these years later I could say the same thing when I'm faced with the fears of writing.

"I love every minute of it." "I love being afraid."

Too bad that watching a scary flick and putting words down on paper do not bring about the same fears. The techniques I used while watching a 'spine-chiller' are not the most affective tools to use when it comes time to writing. Covering my eyes and ears simply isn't productive.

What I do know is that all those years ago I embraced something I enjoyed. I didn't care what anyone thought. I was having a good time. If I apply that same strategy to my writing I'm bound to produce something incredible simply because "I love every minute of it!"

Sure, I need to remind myself why it is that I write, especially when my fears are trying to convince me that I'm not good enough, that no one will like what I've written and no one will want to read it. The list could go on.

I realize that not all fear is bad. It teaches me to persevere. It tests me; calling on me to do my best. So when I feel my fears creeping up on me.... I'm glad that I'm not alone. I'm glad that I have friends and family who encourage my pleasure for writing. "Keep writing! they say...Don't stop! Don't be afraid! You can do it! You know you can!"

Psalm 118:6 "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Facing our Fears by Sandi Somers

We all have fears associated with writing. We may be afraid our ideas will never materialize or that our writing isn’t good enough. We may be afraid of the publishing process. We may be afraid that nobody will read our work. We may fear rejection or failure. On it can go.

This month’s prompt asks: What strategies do you use to get past your fears?

DARE to Be an Artist

 

At one time I began writing about living on a mission station in Colombia. As I wrote about interpersonal difficulties, I was afraid of exposing all that weakness in myself and others.

I even wondered if I should continue. How could I write about that discouraging time?

I journaled and I prayed.

Through journaling, God brought some insights that I never would have discovered had I clung to my fears. I gained a deeper understanding of the real issues. Many of our difficulties arose out of our confined location on the mission station. Others came about because of unhealed areas in people’s lives. I was also much younger, without the maturity of my perspectives today.

Through these insights, God brought to mind: “Let your conversation (writing) be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Col 4:6.

God transformed my writing into words of grace and forgiveness.

This was one example of how God taught me to face fears, not just in writing, but in other areas of life.

I faced my fears square on. Fear can also hide below the surface, masquerading as worry, anxiety, nervousness or timidity.

I asked strategic questions:

• What exactly am I afraid of?
• What does God want to say to me through this fear?
• What does God want me to do?
• What would I attempt if I were sure the Holy Spirit would fill and enable me?

God word gave me encouragement “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline,” 2 Timothy 1:7 NLT

There will always be challenges in overcoming fear. But as we wade into the river of fear and take one step at a time, God will part the water and we’ll find secure soil under our feet. And God will strengthen us as we dare to be an artist.

DARE to be honest about the world that is around you and within you.

DARE to go as far as the stars—and even farther.

DARE to go as deep as your own heart and the deeper heart of God.

~ Murray Pura at InScribe Fall Conference (2013)

Now over to you. What has God taught you about facing your fears?

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - by Glynis Belec

Genesis 11:1

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.

  So do you have it? Are you hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobic? I used to be that way until I armed myself with my trusty thesaurus and my dependable dictionary . Now the fear has settled nicely into cope-ability and intense fascination, thanks to my trusty ebony resource books with the gilt lettering.

     Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - fear of big words.

 

This favourite word of mine is longer than the meaning. When I do a presentation at schools or libraries, I often will use this word to 'attract and hold’ the attention of fidgety five year olds. For some reason, children like arming themselves with a big word or two and then trying it out on teachers or parents or big brothers and sisters.

    Amazing what words are to be found at our fingertips. The thesaurus/dictionary duo can be a perfect friend for word-smiths of any ilk - students, writers, readers...

     Seriously, I love my thesaurus. In fact I love my Roget's Thesaurus so much that I have worn off some of the gold lettering and the spine has come loose. (This is starting to sound a little like the Velveteen Rabbit story.)

     I could never have made it through 26 or so years of writing without my good old writerly companions. I will, when I am in a hurry, use the thesaurus or dictionary in the Word program. They are helpful to a point. Then the same online resources are a mere click away and they can be helpful, too, but as a distractable soul such as me is wont to do, I get side-tracked and before I know it I have clicked link after link and soon find myself  wandering recklessly down online rabbit holes.

     There is something warm and cozy; comforting and calming about my good old dictionary and thesaurus pair.  Sometimes I will just read parts of them and stories begin to form. I get so fascinated with the way words can mean so many things. Much to the chagrin of some of my students, I love playing with words and using the thesaurus and dictionary to try to help them overcome being hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobic.

     When you think about it – a mere 26 letters make up so many words. And the combinations of these words are endless. I tried to look up actually how many words there are in the English language but didn't really find a definitive answer. There are variations of words, then plurals or homonyms or scientific terms, dialect, abbreviations, obsolete words and so on that might or might not make it into the dictionaries. From what I can see from some of the dictionary sites I checked out, the best guestimate on that would be somewhere around three quarters of a million words.. 

    As I have discovered over the years words are not to be feared. I've learned to dig out the resources and remember the power of the written word. Words are magnificent and I am grateful that God blessed us with 26 of them. 

May you and I dare to use magnificent words (big or otherwise) as we string them together for amazing purposes. 

Words...Another reason why God is awesome.